Antiquity as an ideal and a factor in the formation of the intellectual landscape of Ukraine in the second half of the XVIII – early ХІХ centuries

Abstract

The role and place of ancient intellectual heritage (fiction, mythology, historical works, political and philosophical treatises) in the formation of the intellectual landscape of Ukraine during the late Enlightenment are presented and analyzed. The purpose of the work was to find out the methods of assimilation and instrumentalization of the culture of Antiquity in the Ukrainian intellectual environment. The research methodology is based on intellectual history approaches aimed at identifying the mechanisms of formation and structures of the intellectual landscape of certain cultural areas. The presentation of the main material is aimed at the representation of the process of reception of the texts of the Antiquity era in the spiritual-cultural and social-political space of Left Bank Ukraine. Algorithms for assimilation of the ancient heritage have been identified: studying in domestic and foreign institutions, forming one’s own libraries, getting acquainted with the texts of ancient authors in the original and through the work of European educators. The personnel potential of Ukrainian translators of ancient Greek and ancient Roman works was determined, the repertoire of translations of ancient authors and their thematic priorities were clarified. It is emphasized that the appeal to Antiquity was determined both by the pan-European cultural discourse of the Age of Enlightenment and by the peculiarities of the regional social and socio-economic situation. Representatives of the Ukrainian intellectual elite used the plots, images, and styles of Antiquity as a tool for developing and justifying strategies and tactics for the protection of national interests in the process of integration into imperial structures. Conclusion. Ancient heritage in the second half of the XVIII – at the beginning of the ХІХ century became an important cultural resource in the formation of the intellectual landscape of Left Bank Ukraine. This was due to the prevailing cultural discourse of the Enlightenment, the available personnel potential, and the social and aesthetic demand of the ancient heritage. Her patriotic pathos was actively used to defend the special status of the Motherland as part of the empire, to create a national elite socio-cultural space. Classical heritage has become an effective means of status positioning and an instrument of career strategies of the educated classes. Crisis of the Enlightenment Paradigm at the Edge of the XVIII–XIX centuries created the conditions for rethinking Antiquity in the categories of modern times («Aeneid» by I. Kotlyarevskyi). Its use as an important factor in the intellectual landscape ended at the time of the birth of the modern Ukrainian ethnic project.